LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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Chap.. ._._... Copyright No.,., 
SheiL.jVV_^ 2 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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J 
"HOWTO INCREASETHE 



FARM INCOME." 



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BY I^,OXJ.A.Is^3D -wniTisrEY. 



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' HOW TO INCREASE THE 
FARM INCOME." 

0\ ^ *-:5»*^©^^6^-•■ 






•••-^^®*^^r~" 



J. R. WHITNEY Sk CO., PUBLISHERS, 
BROADALBIN, N. Y. 



Copyrighted, 1896, 



Eoland Whitney. /^^A/ 






J. MASON BAEK, 

Book and Job Printer, 

BEOADALBm, N. Y. 



3 

(bOES THE FA(2M (?AY ? 



My friend, does your farm pay? 
Will all that you produce on your 
farm this year pay 6 per cent, inter- 
est on all money invested in your 
farm, stock, teams, etc ; pay lo per 
cent, interest on money invested in 
tools; pay insurance, taxes, hired 
help, necessary running expenses — 
and leave a fair salary for yourself; 
do you derive as large an income 
from your farm as you could wish, or 
as you could reasonably expect, when 
compared with what you could earn 
in some other pursuit, or what you 
know you could make above all ex- 
penses if the money you have in- 
vested in your farm was in- 
vested in some other line 
of business? No? Well, why 
not ? There must be something 
wrong, somewhere, l.et us look at 
this matter; let us see where we are 
at. 

FARMING AS AN INDUSTRY. 

Agriculture is the oldest industry 
of this country ; the one great indus- 
try that underlies all others, the one 
by which the progress of all other in- 
dustries is measured — an idustry that 
compares favorably with any other of 



4 
the gi'eat industries : manufacturing, 
mining, railroading and banking. 

Agriculture is the most natural, 
*'most healthful, most useful, most 
noble occupation of man," and, I be- 
lieve, the most profitable. At any 
rate, it is the only one that persons 
who have failed of success in all other 
pursuits can fall back upon and gain 
a livelihood — one that has more in- 
competent and iacapable persons en- 
gaged in than any other pursuit 
known to man. Yet, statistics show 
well for the farmer. Agriculture is 
moving ahead with rapid strides. 

WHERE WE ARE AT. 

According to the census of 1890, 
we have in the United States 4,564,- 
641 farms, valued at 813,276,000,000; 
our live stock is valued at $2, 208,000,- 
000; our farm implements and ma- 
chinery at $494,000,000. The aver- 
age size of our farms is 137 acres. 
For every one hundred families in 
the United States there are 37 farms, 
and 41 per cent, of our population 
live upon them. Only one-fourth 
the total number of our farms are 
mortgaged. The average mortgage 
represents one-third the value of the 
farm upon which it is secured . Four- 
fifths of the amount of debt on our 
farms was incurred to buy and im- 



5 
prove the property, and the total 
amount of farm mortgages is hardly 
one-tenth the total value of all our 
farms. 

Learning, enterprise and invention 
have greatly increased the productive 
power of the American farmer. 
With the aid of machines and im- 
proved appliances, one man can do 
as much work on the farm now as 
two men could fifty years ago. Rail- 
roads have practically annihilated 
distance, and our markets have spread 
out all over this continent and reached 
out to the countries of the old world. 
On the farm, brain in a great measure 
has taken the place of brawn, and we 
have the pure air, the birds, the 
flowers, the fields, the woods, about 
us. We can revel in the delights of 
a quiet, peaceful home, and more 
leisure time than most business men 
have. And, surely, considering all 
these things, we ought to be in our best 
estate ; we ought to be the most 
prosperous, most happy, most con- 
tented, most influential and best edu- 
cated citizens in the republic. But, 
are we all this? If we are not, there 
must be a fault somewhere, either 
within ourselves or beyond, our con- 
trol. What do you think about it 
my friend ; where does the fault lay? 



6 

Is it in our land? Is it in our mar- 
kets? Is it in legislation ; or is it in 
ourselves? Don't you think it is 
time we stopped to consider this mat- 
ter seriously ; to think about it in a 
common -sense way; to ask ourselves 
a few plain, business questions? 

THE FARM. 

First, what kind of soil have I got? 

What elements of plant food does 
it lack ? 

Do I supply these elements for the 
growing crop? 

Do I raise the crops that are best 
adapted to my soil? 

Do I practice a system of rotation 
that is least exhaustive to my soil? 

Do I replace the fertility, the store 
of plant food that I draw from every 
year? For this is my bank account. 

Do I keep my soil filled with or- 
ganic matter, to keep it porous and 
friable, so that it will hold moisture, 
resist drouth, and enable the tender 
roots of the young plants to get a 
firm foothold? 

Do I have something growing on 
my land all through the growing sea- 
son, to prevent loss of nitric acid and 
other valuable elements by leaching 
or drainage? 

Do I keep my fields smooth and 
trim ? 



7 

Do I plow a straight, cltan-cut fur- 
row, not too wide, and of equal depth 
— clear across my field? For good 
plowing is a great preventive of weed 
growth, a good resister of drouth, 
and the toundatfon of a good crop. 

Do I- discourage the growth of 
weeds and encourage the growth of 
crops by constant and thorough till- 
age? 

Do I save my crops from insect 
pests, from diseases, blights and fun- 
gus growths? Is my farm as pro- 
ductive as it might be? What big 
grass that was in the new seeded 
piece where that manure heap lay all 
winter before I broke it up for corn (?) 

Do I raise one-half as much hay, 
grain, fruit, vegetables and forage 
crops on my farm as I might— are 
they of as good quality as they should 
be ? After I have worked hard to 
grow my crops, am I careful to secure 
them in good condition and save and 
make use of every part of them ? 

MY COWS. 

Do I keep my cows in winter in 
the north end of my barn, in a stable 
that is plentifully supplied with air 
holes? Are my cows compelled to 
wade through the snow and drink ice 
water from a distant brook : or are 
they kept in a warm, sunny stable in 



8 
the south side of my barn, and pro- 
vided with water the temperature of 
which is above the freezing point "? 

Do my cows eat a ' 'balanced ration" 
(a ration so balanced that it can be 
grown on my farm)? Are they the 
kind that have the faculty of ti^rning 
a good portion of that "balanced ra- 
tion" into butter fat ; do I make one- 
half the butter I might from my 
number of covvs ; do I know how to 
make gilt-edged butter ; do I get two- 
thirds the price per pound that is 
paid for a gilt-edged product 

MY HOGS. 

Do I keep my pigs growing fast as 
possible from the time they are 
weaned until they are -slaughtered ; 
are they the kind that will make the 
most pork on a given amount of feed 
and in the shortest time? 

MY SHEEP. 

Do my sheep get plenty to eat and 
pure water to drink ; are they good 
mothers; are they the best breed for 
finely marbled mutton, early growth, 
large lambs and high grade wool ; do 
I derive one-half the profit I ought 
from my number of sheep? 

MY FOWLS. 

Are my fowls well fed and com- 
fortably housed ; are they well form.ed 
and of good size ; do they have a 



9 

bright, yellovv^ skin that makes an at- 
tractive appearance and commands 
the highest price in market; are my 
chicks taken from the hen soon as 
hatched, given a little extra care for 
the iirst few days, then placed with 
others, confined with the aid of a few 
old boards, amd raised, fifty or more 
in a single batch, with less loss and 
no more time and trouble than is re- 
quired to look after one old hen with 
half a dozen, while the mother hen 
goes back into the egg business? 

MY HORSES AND FARM ANIMALS. 

Are my horses properly cared for? 
Are they well-formed, easy keepers 
and fast walkers? 

Do I understand the feeding, care 
and management of all my farm ani- 
mals; do they have sleek, glossy 
coats, that mild expression of eye, 
that air of contentment, that is a 
standard of excellence ; do I feed 
them at a profit, or do I feed them 
at a loss? 

Do I sell only that part of my crops 
that can be sold at a profit, and turn 
the balance into choice meat, butter 
and eggs,^hat can be sold at a profit, 
and leave the manure to go back on 
my land? 

MY MANURE. 

Am I careful to save and utilize 



lO 

every atom of plant food made on my 
farm? Ah ! That reminds me of the 
manure heap that is leaching away 
in my barn5'"ard ; of the many dollars' 
worth of plant food that is being lost 
right here under my nose. I will 
have to provide a place for it under 
cover, and fork it over occasionally 
or haul it to the field fast as made, 
and, too, in my stables, I am losing 
a greater part of the liquid, the rich- 
est portion of my manure. I will 
have to chink the cracks in my stable 
floors and provide an abundance of 
straw and chaff ; or go into the woods 
and gather a big supply of leaves — 
Nature's own fertilizer — to absorb 
this, the richest part of my manure, 
or provide water-tight gutters to 
catch it in a liquid fotm. I will have 
to save all my wood ashes, poultry 
droppings, chip manure, dead dogs, 
cats and other unfortunate farm ani- 
mals . I will have to provide a heap 
of muck or rich dirt in a convenient 
place to run a drain from the house 
and absorb all the slops from the 
kitchen, cess-pool, etc., that would 
otherwise be a v/aste and a nuisance. 
In fact, I will have to study to save 
and utilize every atom of plant food 
within my reach on the farm, for 
concentrated plant foods purchased 



1 1 

in bags or barrels come high, and I 
don't like to use them except to sup- 
ply plant food that cannot otherv/ise 
be obtained, and where experiments 
show they can be used at a profit . 
But well fed plants m.ean big crops of 
best quality that in turn miean v\ ell 
fed stock and choice products, and 
this m.eans a well filled pocketbook 
and many comforts. 

rvlY S¥iARKET. 

To raise good crops and choice pro- 
ducts, however, is not all that is re- 
quired. To make a success of farm- 
ing, one must know something of 
business methods. He nmst keep 
posted on crop conditions, on prices, 
on the varying conditions and re- 
quirements of his market; he mtist 
be a good judge of his own products ; 
he must know how to grade themx 
properly, how to prepare them for 
market in the best and most attract- 
ive manner, how to place them on the 
market at the right time and in the 
best shape, and, when he has done 
all this, he must insist on receiving 
the highest market price for his 
grade^of produce. 

HOW CAiS! I LEARN THIS? 

Did I ever go to town early in the 
morning, when retail dealers are 
least busv, and talk with them about 



12 

the market and the outlook for vari- 
ous crops and farm products; did I 
closely observe the different products 
and the different grades of the same 
product, and learn what prices were 
paid ; did I learn their opinion in re- 
gard to grading and the best manner 
to put up such products as I had for 
sale so as to attract the attention, 
gratify the taste, and please the fancy 
of their customers and bringthe high- 
est price? Did it occur to me that 
the wants of the dealer were identi- 
cal with the tastes of their customers, 
and when they purchased produce 
m.ore attractive than the ordinary it 
found a ready sale at an advanced 
price ? 

Did I ever study to arrange my 
produce in a more attractive manner 
even than my dealers suggested ? 

Did I gain permission to look at 
their books, to read the records of 
their business for several years back, 
and learn what products are in most 
demand and at what time of year 
they bring highest prices ; what pro- 
ducts have a spasmodic sale, and what 
are staple ; at what time of year one 
product crowds out another; at what 
time new products crowd out the old ; 
what changes are constantly taking 
place, and much other valuable in- 



13 

formation that would otherwise take 
years of experience and close obser- 
vation to gain? Was I somewhat 
surprised at a few things I learned 
from their books ; did I gain a few 
points and ideas to work out in the 
winter at my leisure and apply to my 
conditions, to improve my methods 
and add to my income? 
How AND TO Whom do I Sell My Produce? 
Am I so fortunate as to live near 
enough town to have private custom- 
ers for nearly all of my produce ; do 
I realize that a cheerful, civil and po- 
lite manner is the best capital ever 
invested in business, and all power- 
ful in obtaining and retaining cus- 
tomers ; do I have a good class of 
customers who want a good class of 
produce and are able and willing to 
pay for it ; do I realize that city peo- 
ple are unaccustomed to the smell of 
the barn and that such odors are dis- 
agreeable to their acute sense, and 
that neatness is essential to their good 
graces; do I aim to supply their 
wants, gratify their tastes and please 
their fancies ; do I take my produce 
to them in neat, clean, attractive 
packages and good measure ; am I 
ready and willing at all times to rec- 
tify any mistake or oversight on my 
part ; do I study their peculiarities 



H 
and grade my produce according to 
the taste of my separate customers 
and their financial ability to gratify- 
that taste ; do I insist on receiving 
the highest retail price for each sepa- 
rate grade of my produce; did I ever 
make the foolish mistake of offering: 
to undersell the retail dealers, think- 
ing that by so doing I would gain 
custom, but only succeeded in making 
my customers think that miy produce 
was of inferior quality, or that there 
was something" wronor with it? 

Do I prefer to sell to the retail 
dealers ; do I grade my produce pro- 
perly, and take it to them in ckan, 
attractive packages, at a time of day 
when they can best use it; unless o'^e 
dealer can use all of my produce .o 
good advantage, both first and second 
qualit}^, then do I sell my first quality 
to a man w^ho can use that and my 
second qtiality to a man who can best 
use that; and do I realize that if I sell 
my dealer produce that is not exactly 
what it is represented to be, if I try 
to work off a poor quality for first 
price, that even if the dealer does not 
discover the cheat himself, that his 
customers will, and will make com- 
plaint to him and that ever afterward 
he will be very cautious about buying 
of me, if he buys of me at all? 



Do I live so far from those who 
consume my produce that it is neces- 
sary for me to .sell to a local dealer, 
who ships it to a distant cit)^ to whole- 
sale dealers or jobbers, who sell it to 
the retail dealers, who, in turn, sell 
to the consumer, and thus take three, 
perhaps four, profits between me and 
the consumer of my produce? 

Can I not, by raising enough of 
one or more products to make it worth 
while for me to look up a market for 
myself, and worth while for some of 
those '*city chaps" to deal with me 
and by studying the peculiarities and 
requirements of that market, by find- 
ing honest men of gof^d financial 
standing to deal with, by learning 
how to pack my produce so that it 
will not be injured by shipping, bv 
properl}^ grading mv produce and 
selling it for just what it is. and thus 
work lip a trade for myself and head 
off two or three of those profits and 
pnt them in ray own pocket to increase 
my income and better m}^ condition? 

What About Legislation. 

(7an legislation advance my views 
and improve my methods without my 
consent and co-operation; can legisla- 
tion enrich my farm, increase the 
'Vield of my crops, improve their qual- 
ity, and market them to the best ad- 



i6 
vantage ; can legislation stock my 
farm with the kind of anim.als that 
are most profitable for me to keep, 
feed them properly, and house them 
in warm stables so as to return the 
greatest profit ; can legislation com- 
pel the people to purchase inferior 
produce so long as they can procure 
first quality? But, are there not a 
fevv^ things legislation can do that 
would benefit all people asAvell as the 
farmer? In my estimation, what are 
they? 

HOW ABOUT MYSELF? 

Am I farming because I like farm- 
ing as an occupation, and as a means 
of gaining a livelihood, or am I farm- 
ing because I happen to be; because 
I know of nothing better to do at 
present? Am I intending to sell out 
the first opportunity I have and goto 
some other country, or go into some 
other business, and thus kept contin- 
ually in an unsettled state of mind, 
with no definite or well laid plans, 
with very little interest in my busi- 
ness, with very little desire to im- 
prove my methods or to better my 
condition where I am; with very lit- 
tle heart or interest in my farm, my 
crops, my stock, my work, my home 
or my neighbors? Do I know that I 
can do better elsewhere or in some 



1/ 

other business; do I realize that 
wherever I am or whatever I do, 
labor is one of the conditions of my 
existence? 

Do I know just what I want, any- 
way? Had I not better find out for 
certain before I make a m.ove that 
may result in loss, or sorrow, or both ? 
Am I Content on My Farm? 

Do I intend to stay where I am and 
improve my farm and my condition 
on the farm; perhaps to pay my 
debts, to g-ain an independence, to 
lead the life of a useful and intelli- 
g-ent citizen? 

Do I realize that farming is not 
what it used to be ; that great changes 
are constantly taking place all along 
the line, and, too, that the farms our 
fathers and grandfathers tilled are 
not so productive as they were then ; 
that it is becoming necessary, and 
more especially in the older states, to 
supply to the soil a good part of the 
plant food that is needed by the grow- 
ing crop, and that there is a general 
narrowing of profit margins in all 
lines of ao;riculture as in the various 
branches of all other industries ; do I 
realize that my farm is much like a 
factory, a place where crude raAv ma- 
terials are converted into a finished 
product for consumption by the peo- 



i8 
pie, and that my success depends 
upon the prudence and econoni}^ with 
Avhich I manpvge my factory, the use 
I make of its machinery, and the 
quality and quantity of the products 
I turn out, and the time and manner 
in which I place those products on the 
market? 

Do I realize that in whatever in- 
dustry persons engage, those who do 
the brain work, the thinking and 
planning, are far better paid than 
those who do the physical labor; do 
I realize that to be a successful farmer 
requires intelligent thought and study, 
close observation and foresight, also 
energy, enterprise, economy and in- 
dustry ; do I realize that all these in- 
dividual qualities and requirements 
can be cultivated to a high degree ? 

Do I, like those who have achieved 
success in other industries, go to the 
bottom of my business and gain a 
thorough knowledge of all its per- 
plexities, of the practical working of 
all its minute details, from the foun- 
dation up ; and then, do I study to 
improve the quality and increase 
quantity of my products, to lessen the 
cost of production and to sell my pro- 
duce to the very best advantage? 

Do I know what especial line of 



19 
farming I am most capable of follow- 
ing? 

Do I know what especial line of 
production my farm and location is 
best adapted to? 

Do I study the nature of m}-^ soil, 
its texture, its natural sources of plant 
food, the chemical changes that take 
place in rendering its store of plant 
food available to the growing crop ; 
do I understand the valuable aid 
given this chemical action by proper 
drainage, and by thorough, system- 
atic culture? 

Do I study to raise a few of the 
most profitable crops? 

Do I understand the composition 
and especial characters of the crops I 
cultivate; do I study to improve the 
quality of those crops? 

Do I keep the most profitable farm 
animals, those best suited to turn to 
account the unsalable portions of the 
particular crops I cultivate? 

Do I understand the relation -of 
food to animal requirements ; do I 
strive. to improve the quality of their 
products ? 

Do I realize that the tastes of ^the 
people are rapidly becoming educated 
to a higher standard, that the m.arket 
of today does not wantmjore produce, 
but better? 



20 

Do I realize that in view of quick 
communication, of rapid and cheap 
transportation, I am placing my pro- 
ducts on the market in direct compe- 
tition with the products of many 
thousand enterprising, progressive 
farmers who are st^fiving to pay their 
debts, to gain an independence, and 
to rival their neighbors in beautify- 
ing their homes, in dress, and in fine 
equipage; and that if I would find a 
ready market at remunerative prices, 
I must have choice products ; I must 
cater to the tastes and fancie.^ of those 
who consume my produce? 

Did it ever occur to me to advertise 
my business in a small way ; to name 
my farm and brand that name on 
every package of choice produce, and 
let that brand gain a reputation as a 
standard of excellence? 

Do I keep my business constantly 
in mind ; am I always alert in the ac- 
quisition of knowledge relating to my 
business? This may be gained by 
attending farmers' institutes and 
other meetings devoted to the inter- 
ests of the farmer ; by conversation 
with experienced and successful farm- 
ers and dealers ; by the attentive 
reading of reports, bulletins, books 
and papers relating to my business; 
by carefully conducted experiments 



2 I 

and close observation on my own 
farm; by keeping well informed on 
the condition and requirements of my 
market; by getting a clear concep- 
tion of what I should know and by 
using my own common-sense, pure 
and simple in sifting out that which 
will be of practical use to me. 

Do I make the very best use of my 
time, my talents, and my faculties? 

Do I know exactly what I possess 
and how to m^ake the very best use of 
my possessions; am I careful to em- 
ploy only steady, industrious, intelli- 
gent, efficient help; am I systematic 
in all my operations ; is my business 
done by rule; do I have a "place for 
everything and keep everything in 
its proper place"; do I know each 
night before retiring exactly what 
has been accomplished during the 
day; do I have all the little details of 
to-morrow's operations plainly 
mapped out in my mind's eye, that I 
may get at them on the morrow with- 
out delay; do I undertake only so 
much as can be done thoroughly; do 
I do one thing at a time and do it 
promptty and well; do I properly at- 
tend to all the little details of my 
business; do I ever "put off until to- 
morrow^ what can be done to-day;" 
are my tools kept under cover when 



22 

not in actual use; is that break in the 
fence, that loosened board on the 
barn, mended soon as discovered? 
What Does My Produce Cost? 

Do I know to a cent v/hat each crop 
and product costs me; do I know 
whether I am producing them at a 
profit or at a loss; can I expect to in- 
crease my 'income without an exact 
knoAvledge of what I am doing? 

Could a m.anufacturer remain long 
in business if he did not know to the 
fraction of a cent what it cost him to 
manufacture his goods; and if, as is 
often the case, he finds that other 
manufacturers, better located than 
himself, can manufacture the same 
line of goods and sell them at a profit 
for less than he can produce them, 
he is then obliged to study to econo- 
mize in every detail of his business 
and practice ever}^ possible means of 
lessening the cost of production, and 
if he cannot then compete with other 
manufacturers he must give up the 
manufacture of that particular line of 
goods and turn his attention to some 
line for which his location is better 
adapted. 

When a farmer goes to town to 
purchase any article whatever, the 
dealer knows exactly what that arti- 
cle has cost him, and only in extreme 



cases Y/ill lie sell an article unless he 
can make a profit, preferring to keep 
the goods to selling at a loss, or even 
at cost. This is business. It is the 
way he makes a living and gains an 
independence . 

But, on the other hand, when the 
farmer takes his produce to market 
he is obliged to accept the market 
price, which is often very unsatisfac- 
tory, but the farmer can make no ar- 
gument in self defense for he does 
not know what his produce has cost, 
or whether he is selling it at a profit 
or at a loss. The purchaser, there- 
fore, compares the quality of his pro- 
duce with the quality and price of the 
same class of produce already on the 
market, and if the fanner is a good 
judge of his own produce and well 
posted on the market he will receive 
the regular market price for his goods, 
but if he is not, it is more than likely 
that the purchaser will take advan- 
tage of his ignorance, his lack of bus- 
iness sagacity, and pay him the small- 
est possible price and thus increase 
his own profits. 

But, however, until people learn to 
live without eating, there will be an 
enormous demand for the farmer's 
produce. And if all farmers knew to 
a penny what each of their separate 



24 

products cost it would have a strong 
tendency to increase the price of farm 
products. All farmers would, be ex- 
tremely loth to sell their produce for 
less than cost when they could see 
the exact difference between cost of 
production and selling price, and each 
farmer would soon fall into the line 
of farming best adapted to his farm 
and location. He would study to im- 
prove the quality of his separate pro- 
ducts and give more thought and at- 
tention to the sale of his produce, 
and the novv violent fluctuations in 
our markets would soon become bet- 
ter adjusted to the law of supply and 
demand. 

How TO Keep Farm Accounts. 
Do I keep farm accounts? If I do 
not, I will begin at once, and if I 
know of no better way I will procure 
an ordinary blank book. It need not 
cost more than 2 5 cents. I vv^ill begin 
on the first left hand page and write 
the heading, "WHEAT," or what- 
ever crop I begin with, in large let- 
ters. Then, at the top of the columns 
ruled for dollars and cents, I will 
write the word "cost." I will then 
mention the number of acres to be 
devoted to this crop and write in the 
dollars and cents column the amount 
of interest and taxes to be charged to 



this number of acres. Then will 
follow: Cost of plowing, of hurrow- 
ing, the whole cost of manure, if 
purchased, or the cost of hauling to 
the field if made by the farm animals, 
value of seed cost of sowing, har- 
vesting, threshing, hauling to mar- 
ket, etc. Every item of tim.e and 
money expended on this crop will be 
recorded on this page. " On the op- 
posite, or right-hand page, I will 
write the heading, "WHEAT," and 
at the top of dollars and cents column 
the word "produced." On this 
page at the time of threshing I will 
record the yield of grain and the es- 
timate yield of straw. Then will fol- 
low : All sales and the price received, 
also the market value, less the cost 
of hauling to market, of all that is 
fed to farm animals or used in the 
f imiiy. I Avill keep in the same man- 
ner an account with each separate 
crop grown on my farm. 

On the cost page of the account 
with my cows, I vv^ill write: First, 
the number of cows I have and their 
estima,te valne, or the amount for 
which I would be willing to sell them. 
Then will folknv, the actual cost at 
my barn of all purchasecl foods, the 
market value of all grain or other 
foods grovs^n on the farm, the value 



26 

of the estimate quantity of all hay, 
straw or fodder, fed or used as bed- 
ding, less the cost of hauling to mar- 
ket, interest and taxes on land used 
for pasture, service fees, labor, etc. 
And, to estimate the cost of labor, 
for example : I have four cows, and 
it takes 2 hrs, each day to feed, water, 
clean stables, milk, strain and skim 
the milk, and wash the utensils used. 

1 churn every other day, and it takes 

2 hrs. each time to churn, wash, v/ork 
and pack the butter, wash the churn, 
butter worker, etc. I will keep a lit- 
tle track of this so as to be accurate 
about it, and at the end of a week I 
will reckon it up this wise : Careing 
for cows, etc., 7 ds., 2 hrs. a day, 14 
hrs ; churning 3 times, 2 hrs. each 
time, 6 hrs ; 14 plus 6 equals 20 hrs. ; 
and on cost side of cow account I will 
write, to labor, 2ohrs. @ i2j/^c., $2.50. 

I will not forget this part of the ac- 
count, even if my wife does perform 
the greater share of it. 

I can also make an estimate of a 
week's feed in the same way. On 
the ''produced" side of this account 
I will keep a record of all milk and 
butter, whether sold or used in the 
family; skimmed milk and butter- 
milk will also appear on this page at 
about 2c. a gallon, and likewise, will 



27 

be placed on the cost side of the ac- 
counts with calves, pigs, hens, or 
whatever it is fed to. All sales of 
calves, or if they are to be raised on 
the farm, their value when taken 
from the cow, when they will enter 
an account by themselves. And if 
cows are sold, the price received will 
be written on produced side ; if cows 
are bought, their cost will be written 
on cost side of the cow account, etc. 

I will keep in the same manner an 
account with each separate class of 
farm animals, except the teams used 
on the farm, and whatever a crop or 
animal costs, in time and money, 
will be recorded on cost side of their 
separate accounts. Whatever a crop 
or animal produces, either money or 
products, will be recorded on the pro- 
duced side of their separate accounts. 

Beside these accounts I will keep 
an account with the whole farm. On 
the cost side of farm account I will 
keep a record of all expenses incurred 
in a general way to run the farm, 
such as feed and care of teams, shoe- 
ing horses, mending harness, repair 
of tools and fences, small repairs on 
buildings, expense of keeping the 
farm in order, the expense incurred 
in looking up a market for the farm 
products, interest and taxes on waste 



28 

land, and all expenses of the farm 
that would not come under the head 
of some particular crop or class of 
stock. 

At the end of the year, or before I 
begin spring work, I will close up 
my books. I will begin v/ith the first 
account in the book and add tip all 
the items on cost side. If the crop 
has not all been sold or fed tip and 
its value recorded, I will then esti- 
mate the value of what is left and 
write it on the produced side of this 
account and add up this side of the 
account, and if it is PTeater than the 
cost side I will write this difference, 
which will show a profit, on produced 
side of farm account, but, if cost side 
is greater than produced side I will 
write the difference, which will show 
a loss, on cost side of farm account. 
I will close up the account with each 
crop in the same way. 

Before closing up cow account, I 
will v/rite their present value on the 
produced side of their account and 
then bring the profit or loss into 
farm account, same as Avith the crops. 
The account with each class <>f stock 
will be closed up in the same way. 
When the separate accounts have all 
been broUQfht into farm account, I 
will close this up also; and if the 



29 

cost side is greatest it will show the 
loss of the whole farm and how much . 
If produced side is greatest, it will 
show the profit and how much. No 
account of the value of manure made 
by farm animals will be kept, as it 
would be difficult to estimate and 
would make the. accounts m.uch more 
complicated. I v/ill let that stand to 
balance the fertility drawn from to 
produce my crops. Although this 
will not be a complete record of all 
my transactions, it will be sufficient 
to show what each crop and class of 
stock has cost and what produced ; it 
will show what crops or class of stock 
has been grown or kept at a profit, 
and what at a loss, and will show the 
profit or loss of the farm taken as a 
whole, and is all that one unfamiliar 
with the principles and practice of 
book-keeping can work out in detail 
and not become mixed up, and thus 
render the accounts unreliable and 
useless. The va.lueof the-se accounts, 
however, will depend upon their ac- 
curacy, and each item of each sepa- 
rate accounl must be recorded while 
it is still fresh in my mind. If T am 
persistent, prompt and thorough in 
keeping these accounts, I shall soon 
find all the leaks on my farm, I shall 
soon learn what particular lines are 



30 
most profitable and be enabled to 
spend my time to better advantage 
and thus increase my income. 
Economy. 
Do I study to economize in all the 
details of my business ? Before I buy 
a thing do I know just what I want 
and what use I shall make of it ? Am 
I a good judge of what I need to pur- 
chase? Do I realize that true econ- 
omy consists in spending only to pro- 
duce? For instance: I^have a small 
farm and grow on an average 12 
acres of grain each year. I think it 
would pay me to buy a reaper. I 
therefore purchase a first-class, self- 
rake reaper for $65. Now the inter- 
est on that $65 at 6 per cent, amounts 
to $3.90 a year. I will suppose that 
with extra good care that reaper will 
last me fifteen years, which greatly 
exceeds the life of a reaper on the 
average farm. It will take $4 33)^ 
a year to pay for that reaper in fiteen 
years ; it will cost at least one dollar 
a year for oil and repairs, and it is 
worth two dollars a year to store it, 
and more if it has to be taken apart. 
It would take a man and team about 
a day to cut my 12 acres of grain ; I 
pay the man $1.50 a day, but make 
no charge for the team, and the cost 



31 








of cutting my grain 


will 


figure up 


this-wise : 








Interest on $65 at 6 per cent., 


$3.90 


Wear and tear, 




- 


4.33 


Oil and repairs, 


- 




1. 00 


Cost of storage, 






2 00 


One day's labor, 


- 




1.50 



Total cost, ' S12.7S 

Or a cost of one dollar and six cents 

an acre for each of the 15 years. Now 

1 can hire my grain reapt for 50c. 
an acre, and, consequently, I am pay- 
ing $6.73 a year for the satisfaction 
of owning a reaper. 

On the other hand I have in my 
barn : 

8 tons clover hay containing nitrogen 300ft) 
4 " common " " " 120 

2 " oat straw" " " 20 
100 bush, oats " " 60 
100 " corn " " 90 



Total nitrogen, 590ft 

This is to be fed to the animals I 
keep on my farm, and for every 10c 
lbs. of nitrogen consumed in these 
foods 2o lbs. will be voided in the 
solid excrement and 70 lbs. in the 
liquid excrement, or a total of 53 i lbs. 
of nitrogen from these foods. Now, 
nitrogen is one of the most necessary 
and the most expensive element oi 



32 
plant-foocL When purchased, it 
costs i6c. per lb. W'hen manure is 
exposed to the weather the nitrogen 
is readily washed out of it, therefore, 
when I throw my manure out under 
the eaves of my barn, and when the 
winter snows that have made a good 
portion of the bulk of my manure 
heap have melted away, at a very 
loAV estimate one-half, or 265 lbs., of 
this nitrogen has gone with them, 
and 265 lbs. of nitrogen at i6c. per 
lb. is worth ^42.40. Now, I will in- 
vest that S65 in putting up a shedm 
Avhich to house my m.anure. This 
can be done by setting posLS in the 
ground and covering them with 
rough boards. vSuch a .shed would 
last 15 years with very little repairs, 
and my investment '^would figure up 
this-wise. (Of course, there would 
be some loss from other elements, 
but we will figure only on the nitro- 
gen:) 

Interest on I65 at 6 per cent., ^3.90 
Wear and tear, - 4.33 

Repairs, - - i.oo 

Extra time to put manure under 
shed, 15 min. a dayfor 200 ds., 
or 5 ds. at Si .50, - 7.50 



Total cost, - $16.73 



33 

By this investment I will add 
$42.40 worth of plant-food to my soil 
at a cost of $16.73. This will im- 
prove the quality and increase the 
yield of my crops with no more work 
except in harvesting. It will also in- 
crease the fertility and add to the 
value of my farm. 

Uo 1 figure in this way on all mat- 
ters pertaining to m.y business? Dc 
I study to spend only to produce? 
A Business Comparison. 

Do I think I know all there is tc 
know about farming? Is there not a 
strong probability that I am very 
much mistaken? A man might look 
at a mowing machine and know it 
was a mowing machine ; he might 
also know how to keep the knives 
sharp, how to keep it oiled and in 
good running order; he might be 
able to do efficient work with it and, 
when compared with other machines, 
he might know that it was an extra 
good one, and on knowing this he 
might think he knew all there wis tc 
know about mowing machines. But 
would he? It might be^ all that was 
necessary for the user (the consumer^ 
of a mowing machine to know, but 
until he knew how the crude iron 
was first formed in the earth, where 
it was found most abundantly, how 



34 
it is mined, the process of smelting, 
how it is freed from foreign sub- 
stances and converted into raw pig 
iron, how to treat this pig iron to give 
it different degrees of hardness, of 
toughness, and elasticity; until he 
was familiar with the especial use of 
each separate part of a mowing ma- 
chine, its mechanical construction, 
arrangement and adjustment, the 
proper degree of hardness, toughness 
or elasticity each separate part should 
possess, the care of the various tools 
and machines used in its construc- 
tion, and how to use them to fashion 
each separate part, how to put it all 
together, how to test it, how to finish 
it, how to sell it, how to ship it, how 
to keep it in running order, and how 
to do efficient work with it ; until he 
was familiar with the practical work- 
ing of the many details of each sepa- 
rate process of production, construc- 
tion, sale and use, he would not know 
all there was to know about a mow- 
ing machine. 

It would require years of patient 
toil, of persistent effort and close ap- 
plication to learn all this, but if he 
was to engage successfully in the 
manufacture of mowing machines 
this knowledge would be essential. 
Nor could he stop here, but, in order 



35 
to meet competition in the sale of his 
machines, he would be obliged to 
study the v/ants and the requirements 
of the farmer, their likes and preju- 
dices ; he would be obliged to render 
himself familiar with every part of 
every competing machine manufac- 
tured ; he would be compelled to 
study the faults and defects of his 
own machine, and constantly change 
and improve it to meet new require- 
ments ; he would be compelled to 
stud}^ to economize in every detail of 
his business, and practice every pos- 
sible means of reducing the cost of 
production and sale of his machines; 
he would be obliged to keep him.self 
and his business constantly before 
the farmer, the consumer of his pro- 
duct, and last, but in nowise least, 
employ a host of silver-tongued ora- 
tors. 

Is my farm so very much unlike 
the business of a manufacturing es- 
tablishment, except the difference in 
magnitude, the difference in the 
amount of capital invested, and the 
different kind of products that are 
turned out? 

How long could the business of a 
single manufacturing industry of this 
country be continued if conducted in 
the manner that the average farmer 



36 
conducts his business ; how long- be- 
fore the owners would be bankrupt? 
How many farmers are there who 
would be capable of successfully oper- 
ating a single large manufacturing 
establishment without first spending 
years in preparation ? 

Would not a thorough knowledge 
of my business be of correspondingly 
as much profit to me as to the manu- 
facturer? Should I know less of the 
details of my business, or consider 
them of less importance; should my 
business be conducted less economi- 
cally, or in a more loose and slip-shod 
manner ; should I be less thoughtful, 
less thorough, less earnest in my 
business ; should I be less progress- 
ive, less enterprising, less energetic, 
than other producers? 

Does not my success as a farmer, 
like the success of those engaged in 
other pursuits, depend upon myself; 
upon my individual effort and skill; 
upon the knowledge I have of my 
farm, my crops, my farm animals 
and their products ; upon the quality 
and quantity of my produce and my 
tact and ability in disposing of it? Is 
there any quicker or surer way for 
me to increase my income than by 
first finding out exactly what I have 
got and how I stand with the world 



37 
financially by paying close attention 
to all the little details of my business, 
by stopping all the leaks on my farm, 
by gaining a thorough knowledge of 
all branches of my business, by gain- 
ing a reputation for honesty, punc- 
tuality, politeness, and choice pro- 
duce, and then by extending my 
business? Can I expect to do this in 
one day, or in one year? But will 
not close application, patient, persist- 
ent study and well directed effort 
surely bring its reward? Can I learn 
in a natural lifetime more than a very 
small part of all there is to learn con- 
cerning my farm and my business 
that would be highly profitable for 
me to know? Is there a broader field 
for thought and study, for practical 
and profitable improvement, than on 
the farm? Is there a place where 
we can lead more happy, more health- 
ful, more useful lives? Is there a 
place where we can find more keen 
and lasting enjoyment? Here is work 
for the student, for the philosopher, 
for the businessman, for the laborer. 
Here is produced food for the nation. 
Here is a mighty industry, a work of 
great magnitude and importance, and 
the vast improvements that have 
been made in all branches of this gi- 
gantic industry in the past fifty years 



38 

will be insignificant when compared 

with the improvements that will have 

been made in the fifty ydars to come. 

We have only just begun to learn. 



C^==^^^^^:,^i:^^ 



THE BUSINESS MAN'S COMMERCIAL LAW ANDD 

BUSINESS FORMS COMBINED. 
Edited by the late Hon. George W. Clin-. 

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Everybody likes the book because it is so 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




DDD577'^734'^ 



